Down- and up-bow symbols evolution

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NeeraWM
Posts: 185
Joined: 30 Nov 2021, 12:11

Down- and up-bow symbols evolution

Post by NeeraWM »

Hello hive mind,
I need your help because I am writing Critical Notes for an upcoming edition.
While I could get away with this without explaining it too much, my conscience drives me further.

Ever since down- and up-bow markings have been notated, there have been several conventions, for example:
  • classical down-bow that looks like the letter N in cursive, and up-bow that looks like a V, from the words "nobilis" and "vilis" in Latin. This is also what survived as the most-accepted convention.
  • down-bow as an upside-down V and up-bow as an ordinary V. This can be found in old German editions, relatively modern French editions, and in most XIX century Ricordi's editions (picture)
Screenshot 2023-03-26 at 16.44.14.png
Screenshot 2023-03-26 at 16.44.14.png (82.87 KiB) Viewed 58772 times
  • both down-bow and up-bow symbols equal to today's down-bow (nobilis), just flipped vertically (rare, but easy to check in most Durand editions of the XIX and early XX century
In my notes, I would like to explain how this evolved instead of simply saying that this was used back in 1865 and that's it.
Do you know a bit more of the history and evolution of these symbols?
Thank you so much for your contribution and insight!
All best,

Neera
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